My wife posed a question last week that admittedly caught me off guard: “At what age do you think it’s appropriate to get our daughter a smartphone?”
Now the question is legit, and the local media has been furiously raising issues of texting and social media in the classroom, so it wasn’t completely from left field. But two elements beyond the question itself had me pause for thought.
First, my daughter is three.
Second, it wasn’t a cell phone anymore, but a smartphone.
To be clear, my wife was not suggesting we run out and buy an iPhone for a daughter barely out of diapers, but was curious as to my thoughts on when it was appropriate to buy any child a smartphone. A great question for further thought, but one we agreed was not in our personal future – at least not until our kids at least hit school age.
But the context behind the question was revealing. The question of a mobile device is no longer a question of if, but when. And, the smartphone was moving from the category of high-tech device, one that would normally fall into – as the self-confessed techno-gadget geek and purchaser in our household – my domain to initially consider.
And I shouldn’t be surprised. In fact, I should know better.
Though some might picture the stereotypical mom as slightly Luddite in her leanings, a series of reports this year reveal just how wrong that stereotype is. Modern moms are not just using smartphone, but leading their adoption. Moreover, it’s not just young, tech confident new moms purchasing the technology, but mothers in their 30’s and 40’s partaking in this rapidly expanding group of smartphone purchasers (Pew Internet).
And it makes sense. With the addition of cameras, and a wide array of apps aimed at parents and children, smartphones are a natural fit. In spring this year, BabyCenter® released a survey “which revealed that mobile phones – and smartphones in particular – have become indispensible to moms, who are 18% more likely than average to have a smartphone.”
The same survey also revealed that becoming a mom was the trigger to smartphone adoption, with over half purchasing a smartphone upon becoming a parent. And even more revealing to those of use who spend our workdays contemplating how to get our marketing messages to our favorite primary purchasers, over two-thirds of smartphone wielding moms reported that they use their smartphones while shopping.
When one takes into account that moms are also leaders in online spending, and that they are now leading the charge for smartphone adoption, the opportunity for marketers is obvious.
Smart campaigns are starting taking into consideration the four key features that a smartphone provides, increasingly being referred to as LoSoPhoMo: Local, Social, Photo-centric, Mobile (credit goes to Steve Rubel Advertising Age for the concept).
Moms are connected, active, and not just users of smartphones, but power users. And they are using the smartphone for a variety of reasons: time management, email, social networking, gaming, texting, couponing, checking in, checking out, mapping, and even making the occasional phone call.
Few would deny that today’s modern mom is super busy, and so many of the features and applications of today’s smartphone were specifically made for those on the go. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that moms – still the major decision maker when it comes to household purchases — are relying on their smartphones when shopping—at home, online or in-store.
In a recent Greystripe report, moms showed just how active they were in using the various features of smartphones in their shopping habits, including: locating the nearest store; comparing prices; researching new products; downloading digital coupons; tracking sales; creating shopping lists; and making purchases.
From coupon promotions, to ratings and reviews, to contests and sweepstakes, how the digital campaign not only works on, but takes advantage of, the smartphone feature set has to be considered. Otherwise, the opportunity to reach and engage an increasing number of moms is lost.
And as moms so often do, they set the tone and direction for the rest of the family. As mentioned in a recent AdAge article, a stunning 25% of toddlers have used a smartphone. Did I mention that my 3-year-old daughter – the one barely out of diapers – already confidently operates my iPhone to get to her apps? And that she’s lately taken to the iPad 2 with similar poise? The notion of a personal mobile device for her, and her mom, has already eclipsed the feature phone.
The question of whether mom wants a smartphone is already answered. As Gen Y comes into parenthood, the smartphones that young women are using now, and the expectations they carry with them, will only become more prominent. Reaching moms, a cornerstone of marketing a wide variety of goods and services, will demand an engagement strategy that takes the smartphone in as mom’s primary window to the digital world.
